


Hurts To Be Human

by WritingDaydreams



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Confused Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Depressed Marinette Dupain-Cheng, F/M, Gen, How Do I Tag, Identity Reveal, Inspired by Music, Protective Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:07:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29376126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingDaydreams/pseuds/WritingDaydreams
Summary: “Marinette,” he said her name in a whisper, his throat dry with heartbreak for his everyday Ladybug. “I am so sorry.”When she opened her ocean-colored eyes, he could see the tears starting to just edge over the brim of her lashes. “It just…,” she trailed off with a small hiccup, lifting her eyes to meet his with a trembling smile. “It just hurts to be human right now, you know?”Inspired by the song Hurts 2 B Human by P!nk ft Khalid.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 3
Kudos: 140





	Hurts To Be Human

**Author's Note:**

> A huge “Thank You” to [ InkyCoffee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkyCoffee) for looking over this story for me.
> 
> Happy Lunar New Year, everyone!

Invisible in the twilight shadows, Chat Noir ran across the rooftops of Paris, relishing in the freedom that Plagg and his Miraculous offered to the sheltered teen. His thoughts were on his Lady, and how she had seemed so stressed out the night before...

_ “Are you okay, m’lady?” He had asked her when he had landed on their designated rooftop for that night's patrol.  _

_ Ladybug was jolted from her thoughts at the sound of her partner's voice. She was so deep in her contemplation that she never heard him approach.  _

_ “Of course I am, chaton. Why wouldn’t I be?” She asked, giving off a fake chuckle to throw the cat-themed hero’s scent off of how she was truly feeling. _

__

_ Like the weight of the world was once again on her shoulders and that the boy she was in love with...was in love with someone else. _

_ She looked as if her heart was broken, but she tried not to let it show. _

_ “M’lady, forgive my language, but that sounds like a load of bull,” Chat Noir had stated with a deadpan voice. Seeing her shoulders tense and her face tighten into a wince made him pause, however, and re-evaluate his previous supposition. “You don't have to tell me anything that you’re not comfortable sharing with me, M’Lady,” he said with a sigh as he sat down next to her. “I just want you to know that no matter what, I’ve got your back. You and me against the world, remember?” _

_Ladybug’s posture relaxed at his words, her face softening._ _“As always,” she replied, standing up a little straighter. “Let’s get this patrol done! Ready?”_

_ “I’m always ready to spend more time with you, Bugaboo,” the cat boy grinned. _

  
  


As he ran past his school on the way home, he noticed a light emitting from a familiar balcony.

_ ‘Marinette,’ _ he thought with a smile, bringing the balcony owner’s face to the forefront of his memory. Thinking of his kind, creative dark-haired friend never failed to make the feline-themed hero feel better.

As he got closer to the source of the light, he could make out the girl in question leaning against the railing of the structure with slumped shoulders, seemingly lost in thought. 

Wait...were those tear tracks staining her face?

He landed on the roof behind her with a soft thud, but it was loud enough for the designer to startle slightly. She furiously scrubbed at her porcelain cheeks with the heels of her palms, trying in vain to hide away the evidence of her sorrow before turning to greet her heroic visitor.

“Purrincess, are you okay?” Chat Noir asked before the distraught girl could open her mouth in greeting.

Unexpectedly, red-rimmed blue topaz eyes filled with tears once more as Marinette tried and failed to suppress a sob.

Green eyes wide, the black-clad hero quickly gathered the girl in his arms to comfort her, lowering them both to a comfortable position on the ground. Her sobs wracked her body as he quietly soothed her, rubbing her back while keeping watch for the inevitable dark butterfly.

Ladybug’s luck must’ve rubbed off on him, as none had appeared the whole while that he held Marinette in his arms.

Eventually, the sobbing had ceased, but the blue-eyed girl still clung to him, feeling safe within her partner's warm embrace.

“I’m guessing that all is not alright within the kingdom, huh, Princess?” Chat tried again, throwing in a little levity to hopefully bring the designer out of her somber mood.

“I’m sorry, Chat Noir,” Marinette said after a moment with a long, shuddering sigh. She slowly started to shift away, reluctant to leave his arms. “I... I’m not sure what came over me.”

“I think I do,” the blond said quietly. “You must’ve been bottling all of that up for a long time. Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s… it’s nothing,” she stammered out, burying her face into his chest to hide her embarrassment. “It’s stupid. I’m just getting tired of getting tied up in my thoughts, is all.”

“Must’ve been some pretty powerful thoughts to make you feel this way, Purrincess,” Chat let out with a low whistle. “So, it couldn’t have been nothing, nor stupid.” He chuckled humorlessly, carefully running his claws through her pigtails. “Are you sure that you don't want to talk about them?” He asked, pulling back slightly to look into her face.

She closed her eyes and hung her head for a moment, taking a breath to gather herself. “There's this girl in my class. She always lies and she threatened to make my friends turn against me if I didn’t fall in line.”

The black-clad hero gaped at her in astonishment. He never realized just how badly Lila’s lies were hurting the girl that he considered one of his best friends. “That’s... awful,” he said in an empathetic tone, reminding himself that he wasn’t supposed to know this as Chat Noir.

He supposedly wasn’t supposed to know this as Adrien Agreste either.

_ Why didn’t she tell him as Adrien? _

“There’s more,” Marinette said in a hesitant voice, keeping her eyes closed so that she could feel a bit more brave. “There’s also...there’s this boy that I like… and I think that… that he doesn’t feel the same way.”

Now that truly shocked the boy. How could  _ anyone _ not adore the girl before him?! Hell, if he wasn’t so hung up on Ladybug… it would be just too easy for him to fall in love with Marinette.

He wasn’t so sure he wasn’t half-way in love with her already.

“Marinette,” he said her name in a whisper, his throat dry with heartbreak for his everyday Ladybug. “I am so sorry.”

When she opened her ocean-colored eyes, he could see the tears starting to just edge over the brim of her lashes. “It just…,” she trailed off with a small hiccup, lifting her eyes to meet his with a trembling smile. “It just hurts to be human right now, you know?”

Chat pulled her back into his embrace and placed a gentle, featherlight kiss on the top of her head, soothing her as best as he could. “Yeah,” he said hoarsely, rubbing small circles onto her back. “I know.”

They held tight onto each other until Chat couldn’t stay any longer. With a final soft kiss to the top of her head, the cat-themed hero pulled back. “Will you be alright now, Princess?” he asked in a gentle voice.

“Y-yeah,” Marinette sniffed, wiping at her eyes one last time. “Thank you, Chat Noir. Without you here, I would’ve probably lost myself to Hawkmoth.”

That statement sent a chill down his back. He couldn’t imagine his sweet, kind, and  _ VERY creative  _ classmate as one of Hawk-ass’s minions. She’d be unstoppable, and he wasn’t sure if he could ever have the strength and courage to fight her.

“I’m glad that I was here for you, Marinette,” he said as he placed both of his hands on her shoulders. “You always seem to take care of others whenever I see you. I don't mind having your back when it comes to something like this.”

Overwhelmed, she hugged him once more with a whispered “thank you.”

At that, the black-clad hero promised that he would come back as soon as he could. With one last kiss to her forehead, he ran off into the night, once more melting into the shadows.

The next day at school, Marinette could feel herself spacing out while staring at her desk. Alya hadn’t arrived yet to take her seat, as she and Nino were still sitting amongst the crowd surrounding one Italian liar. 

Classes hadn’t even started yet, and Lila was already starting to pile on the bull.

The conniving fox was going on and on about meeting with this famous celebrity, going to that exotic place, and making so many promises that Marinette knew the vixen wouldn’t keep. 

How the rest of the class could believe any of it still boggled her mind.

She was also very worried about the fallout from all of those broken promises; she didn’t want to see her friends get hurt.

Marinette was so lost in thought, that she didn’t even notice when a certain green-eyed blond walked into the classroom.

Adrien entered and took notice of the crowd, but promptly ignored them when he noticed who was in the center of it all. But he did notice his dark-haired friend sitting alone at her desk, chewing on her lip and staring at nothing. He carefully approached the desk, making sure that Marinette wouldn’t get too startled when he gently placed his hand upon hers.

She came back to the present with a quiet jolt, but nothing too severe since her gemstone gaze was soon caught up in a pair of eyes the color of tsavorite garnets. 

“Are you okay, Marinette?” The model asked with a small smile of apology, the action knocking her slightly out of her stupor.

Shaking herself back to the present, the designer smiled in kind. “Yeah,” she replied on a sigh, looking back over her shoulder at her supposed friends. “I’m just... getting tired of getting tied up in my thoughts is all,” she said sadly as she turned back to face him.

‘ _ And you’re one of the few who could ever make them stop,”  _ she silently mused, the feeling of familiarity making her think of her partner as well.

His smile morphed into one of sympathy as he remembered those same exact words she had used the night before. “I can understand that,” he said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “Just… know that I have your back, okay?”

“Us against the world, huh?” Marinette said unconsciously, her mind a thousand miles away and feeling as if she were on a rooftop with another blond-haired, green-eyed boy.

He froze and blinked at that, as it sounded like something that he often told his lady.

In fact, he told his lady those exact same words the other night when she looked just as down as Marinette was looking now.

Could… could it be…?

Seeing that Adrien was being silent for so long caused Marinette to worry. Did she say something wrong? 

“I...I’m sorry...I...I shouldn’t have said that” she stuttered out, starting to backtrack before it was too late. “I only meant that, well, if you’ve got my back then I’ve got yours too, and oh god I'll shut up now,” she rambled, covering her face with her free hand.

God it was too late, wasn’t it?

_ Great job, Marinette! You didn’t need Lie-la to take Adrien away when you could push him away yourself! _

Realizing his mistake, Adrien shook himself and squeezed her hand again to knock the dark-haired girl out of her downward spiral.

“Hey! Hey, Marinette, you didn’t say anything wrong,” he said quickly in that reassuring voice of his. “You’re wording just took me off guard is all.”

“My...wording?” She asked, peeking out from behind her fingers and not entirely at ease just yet.

“Yeah,” the boy said with a slight chuckle. “I said almost the same exact thing to a close friend of mine the other night!”

With her thoughts racing to the memories of her kitty saying those exact words the last time that they had seen each other, and an uneasy smile, Marinette responded, “Heh, what a coincidence.”

Adrien smiled, giving her a soft look. “And I’m glad that you have my back too, Marinette.”

_ ‘Why  _ **_did_ ** _ I quote Chat Noir’s words?’  _ Marinette thought hazily as she watched the blond turn back in his seat when their teacher strode in to begin the day’s lesson.

After classes had ended, Marinette got up the nerve to continue their previous conversation.

“So… do you have any plans for tonight?” The dark-haired girl asked uneasily as they left the classroom.

“Well, I’m meeting up with Kagami later,” the model mentioned, tapping his chin with a finger from his right hand. “Why don't you come join us?”

Marinette gave him an incredulous look. “I… wouldn’t want to impose. Besides, I have a huge commission that I need to work on tonight.”

“Aw, come with us, Marinette,” Adrien pleaded, green eyes widening like those of a kitten. “I know that Kagami would be happy to see you and that she wouldn’t mind hanging out with you, too”

“Really, Adrien,” the designer shook her head. “I wouldn’t want to be a third wheel. I wind up that way enough with Nino and Alya.”

Now Adrien pulled a face full of confusion. “Why would it be third-wheeling? Kagami and I aren’t dating.”

Marinette's jaw dropped to the floor at the blond’s admission. “Wha-what?” She stammered out, not believing what she had just heard.

“Yeah,” the model said with a shrug. “We’re just friends hanging out tonight. Are you sure that you don’t want to come?”

Shaking her head to clear it of her racing thoughts, she stared down at her friend. “Does Kagami know that you feel that way?” She inquired. “I was under the impression that you two were a couple, based on how you two have been acting around each other.”

The thought made Adrien pause and turn his face from hers. While it was true that Kagami tried to kiss him not that long ago, he had thought that they had already talked about what their relationship was. 

_ Did Kagami think of their hangouts as a  _ **_date_ ** _? _

He knew that he liked her, but he was also still hung up over Ladybug. 

Who if she was who he thought she was….

Oh boy, did they have some talking to do.

“I… didn’t think so, but now I have a feeling that I really should talk to her.” The boy said reluctantly, a frown disturbing the pleasant features of his face. “I just hope that I don’t lose her friendship over this.”

It was Marinette’s turn to give him a soft look, her heart breaking for the beam of sunshine standing in front of her. “I’m sure that everything will turn out all right….eventually?” She said, though her voice went up in question.

Bringing his gaze back towards her, his malachite locking onto her azure, Adrien replied, “I hope so. Thank you, Marinette.”

Momentarily lost in his verdant eyes, the dark-haired girl responded dreamily, “You’re welcome.” Shaking herself once more, she glanced at the clock on the courtyard wall and blanched. “I better get going. That commission isn’t going to design itself, you know.”

“Good luck on it then,” Adrien chuckled. “Maybe… we could hang out sometime? Just the two of us?” He asked, his voice full of hope.

He really wanted to know if the two most awesome girls in his life were really just the same one.

_ Maybe he would stop by after patrol tonight _ ... 

Turning back to him with wide eyes, Marinette gaped at him for a moment before gracing him with a small smile, “I’d… I’d like nothing more,” she replied shyly as she started to walk out of the school's doors. She noticed Kagami at the bottom of the steps, waiting for the boy beside her. “Good luck with your talk with Kagami.”

“Thanks,” he said, nerves coloring his voice. “I think I might need it. See you later, Marinette.”

“Bye, Adrien,” she said with a quick wave as she began her sprint home.

The model waved back with a grin and took a deep breath, feeling as if he was buckled in and waiting for the crash. He turned and started walking down the steps towards his fencing partner and friend.

At least, he hoped that they would still be friends after this.

“H-hey Kagami,” he stuttered out, nerves starting to fill his stomach as he stopped a comfortable distance away

  
  


_ He could do this! He was Adrien Agreste! He was freaking _ **_Chat Noir_ ** _!  _

“Hello Adrien,” she said coolly as she approached him, leaning up to attempt a kiss.

_ He couldn’t freaking do this! _

Like the scaredy-cat that he is, he stepped back a bit, turning his face so that her lips lightly brushed his cheek rather than their intended target.

Kagami paused in disappointment and stepped back, eyes narrowed.

“Your hesitance is still very hurtful to me, Adrien,” she said with a sigh.

Adrien wilted under the Japanese girl’s piercing stare. “I’m sorry Kagami, but I …” he trailed off, lowering his head as he gathered his thoughts. He took another breath as he brought his right hand to the back of his neck. He felt like he was walking on a road of broken glass, and that he needed to tread carefully. “I just...I just don't feel the same way towards you as you do towards me.” He finally said as he brought his eyes up to meet hers.

She looked as if he had just slapped her.

He really hated that he made her feel that way.

“Are we … can we still be friends?” Adrien asked, hesitance and trepidation coloring his voice.

Kagami sighed and closed her eyes, rejection showing on every feature of her exotic face. “I guess...eventually we will, but…. but not right now. I… I will need some time,” she choked out, hidden tears and disappointment coating her throat.

“I understand,” he said, disappointment now filling in his features as he looked away from her once more. Bringing his hand away from his neck, he extended it in front of him, palm up. “Please remember that I will always be willing to be your friend, Kagami.”

The girl blinked at that, slightly taken aback at the sincerity at which he had shown her. She took his hand with a small smile and shook it firmly. “Thank you, Adrien, but I must be going now,” she said in a matter of fact style of voice before turning towards her car.

“Well, that was something,” Plagg said in his nasally voice, poking his head out from the model’s overshirt once the former Dragon holder was out of earshot.

“Shut up, Plagg,” Adrien said dejectedly, gently poking his Kwami back into hiding. He pulled out his phone and pulled up his messaging app, selecting the one contact whom he knew could help him. 

**AA** : had the “talk” with Kagami.

It...didn't go so well… 

**MDC** : oh no… 

I’m so, so sorry Adrien!

Do you want to come over to talk about it?

**AA** : what about your commission?

**MDC** : it can wait… sort of lol🤪

**AA** : thank you, Marinette ☺️

I’ll be over soon.

The blond exited out of his conversation with his dark-haired friend and pulled up the conversation with his bodyguard. He let the large man know about the change in his plans and started to head his way over to the bakery.

Stepping through the storefront doors, Adrien couldn’t help but close his eyes as he breathed in the heavenly scents of vanilla, cinnamon, and chocolate from the large assortment of pastries combined with the yeasty smells of all of the freshly baked breads. It made him feel all sorts of warm and lovely things that he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

Opening his eyes, he saw Sabine Cheng looking at him with an amused look on her face.

“Hello, Adrien,” she spoke warmly, gray eyes sparkling. “Marinette just told us that you were on your way. Why don’t you pick out something to snack on and head on up? She’s waiting for you upstairs.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Cheng,” he said gratefully, carefully choosing two passion fruit macarons and a croissant. “Should I bring anything up for Marinette as well? I know that she has a big commission that she’s working on and that she’s taking time away from working on it to talk with me.”

Sabine’s smile went from one of amusement to one of genuine affection. She really did like this boy and hoped that he would continue to be as sweet as he was now when he grew into an adult. “I’m sure that she would appreciate such a nice boy like yourself bringing her up a sweet treat. She loves pain au chocolat,” she said, handing the flaky confection over to the now blushing blond in addition to his previous picks. “And Adrien,” she called out to him as he moved to enter the kitchens leading towards family dwelling, “please, call me Sabine. You are always welcomed here, you know?”

“Thank you….Sabine,” he choked out, feeling a little overwhelmed by the kindness shown by the older woman. It was no wonder to him how Marinette came by her sweet demeanor. 

It made him jealous in a way. He missed his own mother intensely.

He shook off those thoughts quickly as he passed by Tom Dupain, who smiled and waved him along to climb the stairs to the apartment above before going back to kneading a massive amount of dough. It was best not to dwell on them right now.

Reaching the apartment door, Adrien hesitated. Should he knock, or just go in? Marinette’s mom did mention that she was waiting for him, but he didn't want to presume that he could just walk right in. After a brief argument with himself and some encouragement in the form of silent purring from Plagg, he raised his hand to knock and -

“-nette, everything is going to be fine!” 

“I hope so, Tikki! Now go hide! He’ll be here any moment!”

He froze.

Did he really just hear -

Did she really say - 

Adrien.exe has stopped working

_ How the HELL did Marinette know Tikki?! _

Slowly, the dots (or should he say, the  _ spots, _ he punned, once his brain came fully back online) started to connect. How Marinette would disappear during akuma attacks, how she would appear to outings almost as late as he would, the flimsy excuses that she would sometimes spit out (how does one...you know what, never mind).

His partner had been right by his side the whole time!!

The blond’s eyes lit up at this revelation, sparkling like the bright green gems that they resembled. His earlier hunches were pretty much confirmed now, and his two favorite girls were one and the same!

Then he remembered one of the reasons why she was crying the night before, how she was so certain that the boy that she liked didn't see her in the same light as she saw him. It felt like all of his earlier joy drained out of him like water through a leaky old bucket, and he came down hard from his soaring high.

It was at this moment that the door in front of him opened, and two bright blue topaz colored eyes peered up at him, locking him into place. 

He belatedly realized that his hand was still in the position to knock at the aforementioned wooden structure.

How long had he been standing there again?

“A-Adrien!” The dark-haired girl stammered out, clearly surprised as she nearly knocked herself in the face with the door she still held ajar. “H-hi! Did you just get here?”

“Uh,” he said with great articulation, smoothly transitioning the hand that was still in the knocking position to rub the back of his neck while his face shifted into a sheepish expression. “Hi?” He squeaked out, suddenly mortified as his voice decided to crack at that moment.

_ ‘Say  _ **_something,_ ** _ you blind moron!’  _ The boy chastised himself.  _ ‘In and out of our masks, this girl is one of your best friends! You can do this!’ _

And Marinette is Ladybug.

_ Wait…. _

_ MARINETTE IS LADYBUG! _

He could  _ feel _ Plagg shaking with laughter in the hidden pocket of his overshirt when his heart rate picked up. The little shit. Adrien was  _ so _ going to switch him over from Camembert to that pasteurized stuff from the States if he kept this up.

Slapping nonchalantly at his shirt to shut his Kwami up, the model cleared his throat before he nervously stuttered out, “C-can I come in?”

_ ‘Yes! I can make words!’  _ He cheered to himself.

“Oh!” Marinette exclaimed with a rapidly reddening face. She opened the door wider and moved to let him pass through. “O-of course in come you...I mean! You can come in!”

Moving past her, he gave her a small, encouraging smile. “So…” he started, after he crossed over the threshold.

“So…” the designer echoed after him, fidgeting with her fingers.

Adrien suddenly remembered the pastries that he had carried up and lifted them to her eye level. “Your mom sent up pastries with me,” he announced, suddenly feeling  _ very _ awkward. “I mean, your mom had asked me if I had wanted anything, and then I offered to bring you up something too…”

“Oh! That was so nice of you, Adrien,” she said with wide eyes, giving him a warm smile. “Why don't we eat them down here, then head on up to my room so that we can...talk?”

“And so that you can work on your commission at the same time, right?” The blond asked with a wry smile.

A giggle erupted from the dark-haired girl as she walked to the dinette set, the sound causing butterflies to take flight in the pit of his stomach. “Okay, you caught me,” she admitted once her laughter died down a bit. “But once you know who the commission is for, you’ll understand.”

“I don’t doubt you,” _ my Lady, _ he desperately wanted to tack on as he sat down across from her, placing the delicacies between them. __

They ate their pastries quickly in a comfortable silence, shooting each other shy looks that didn't quite connect. __

Once they had finished, Marinette ushered them upstairs to her room for a little privacy for their conversation.

“So, want to talk about it?” She asked after she had closed the trapdoor to her room. “Your talk with Kagami, I mean,” she clarified after seeing the look of confusion on the blond’s face.

“To be honest, I’d rather talk about your commission right now,” Adrien said in a nervous voice, rubbing the back of his head once more.

“Trying to avoid the subject, I see,” she said teasingly as she moved to sit on her chaise, patting a spot next to her in invitation.

“Not really,” he said as he took the proffered seat. “I’m just… how did you put it earlier? Getting tired of getting tied up in my thoughts?”

“I understand that all too well,” she said with a small eye-roll in self-deprecation.

“It just…,” he trailed off, his mind going off into a million different directions.

Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to reveal his identity?

It was only fair, after all, even if he didn’t mean to find out hers.

With one last push of courage, the model took a deep breath, looked her in the eyes, and said, “It just hurts to be human right now.”

He watched as shock took over her face for a moment before the gears in her head were set into motion. Her eyes scanned over his face, taking in every little detail and melding together the boy before her with the memory of her partner in black.

Adrien did not blame her, as he’d been doing the same thing ever since he arrived.

There was a quiet “oh my God” that was said in her voice as she covered her mouth with her hand, her gemstone eyes bouncing from his hair to his eyes to the silver ring on his right hand and back again in an almost dizzying cycle.

“Chaton?”

“I guess the Chat is out of the bag, huh Bugaboo?” The blond asked sheepishly, rubbing at his neck again.

Now her blue eyes were practically bugging out of her head at that bit of information.

“Wha...how...when?” She stammered out, flailing her arms about as her anxiety seemed to spike. Her breathing picked up and she seemed to start hyperventilating.

“Shh, shh, shh, shh,” he cooed, latching onto her hands to help calm her down. He moved closer to wrap his arm around her shoulder and give her a comforting squeeze. “Breathe, M’Lady. I will explain, but you need to breathe first.”

It took a little while, with Adrien helping her at first, but soon enough Marinette got her breathing somewhat under control.

“Explain… please,” she said in between taking deep breaths, Tikki coming out of her hiding spot to listen as well.

“Okay…,” he said, removing his arm from her shoulders to wipe his palms on his jeans as his nerves kicked in once more. “I only found out a few minutes ago, I overheard you and Tikki talking when I was about to knock on the door. I guess that you two were a little close to it when that happened,” he said with a shrug.

The designer and her kwami stared at him in disbelief for a moment before the dark-haired girl loudly facepalmed herself, startling the little embodiment of creation.

“I can’t believe that I was found out because of such a stupid mistake,” she muttered as she rubbed her face where she had hit it.

“At least it was me, and not anyone else,” the model pointed out helpfully.

“That’s true,” Tikki said softly, trying to encourage her Holder

“And what am I? Chopped liver?” Came a nasally voice from inside the blond’s shirt pocket.

Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb as he groaned out his kwami’s name. 

“You know that Kwamis don’t count, Plagg,” Tikki said in admonishment, rolling her eyes as she did so.

“Well, we should, Sugar Cube,” the cat-like being said petulantly as he floated out of his hiding place.

His red-spotted counterpart grabbed him as she said, “Let’s leave these two to sort things out, okay?”

“Fine,” Plagg agreed in an annoying voice. “Got any cheese?” he asked as they floated through the skylight window.

“Well, that was something,” Adrien commented, removing his hand from his face as he looked towards his partner with amusement glittering in his gemstone eyes.

“I guess it was,” Marinette said, also removing her hand from her own face.

They sat in silence for a moment, just staring at anything that wasn't each other before it became too much for the blond. He looked towards his partner and noticed how she was wringing her hands while chewing on her bottom lip. He smiled at her nervousness, and gently took her hands into his once more.

“It will be alright, M’Lady,” he said as she looked up at him, her blue topaz eyes seeking out and locking onto his tsavorite green ones.

“How do you know that, Chaton?” She asked in a near whisper, like she was almost afraid to raise it any louder.

“Because I’ve got you,” he said adoringly, giving her hands an encouraging squeeze. “And you’ve got me, too.”

The dark-haired girl blinked at him for a moment before she graced him with a smile. her eyes shining, full of love and mischief. “Yeah, I’ve got you,” she said as she freed one of her hands to tap him gently on his nose with her fingertip, making him go cross-eyed for a second. She giggled at the sight before reaffirming, “And you’ve got me, too.”

Adrien couldn't help but smile at her lovingly. He always knew that he would love the girl behind the mask, and the fact that that girl was Marinette just made it more so. Leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers, he said quietly, “It’s us against the world.”

“As always,” she answered with a smile before he pressed his lips to hers in the first of many kisses.

**Author's Note:**

> Are you interested in reading and writing fanfiction, making fanart or cosplaying/roleplaying for Miraculous? Then [ the Miraculous Fanworks Discord Server ](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) is the place for you! Come and join over 1000 other fans as we share, discuss, and have a general good time bonding over the Fandom we all love!


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